Where The Music Goes
by parkeyfinn
Summary: An AU, Nick and Finnick are teenagers. I will use some real-life venues/songs to supplement the story, typically in the indie rock genre. I'll list songs at the bottom of each chapter, I keep all of them on my playlist on spotify, which has many more, so don't hesitate to ask about it! Pls comment! Thx! Finnick and Nick have an opportunity to create a real band. Their life's work.
1. Chapter 1

"Just think...just think"...Nick's mind stayed blank.

This wasn't the first time he tried to start a musical project. More like the third time. The first attempt, known as the Busts, was an attempt at harder psychedelic rock that proved futile courtesy of time commitment issues by other members. The second attempt, known as Floraheads, was a mix of hip-hop, psychedelic rock, and hard rock that made good music, but the relationships between everyone else deteriorated to nothingness. This...this was just him. At least, for now.

The beat he made was solid. Actually, all of the instrumentals were. His best friend, the short, light brown fennec fox known simply as Finnick, recorded a simple yet punchy bassline for the song. So, perhaps the solo project was a duet. The instrumentals had a fantastic indie-rock, surfer feel to them. Somewhat characteristic to Zootopia's coast, but who cared, so long as the music had substance?

The intro built up for a few seconds, then stopped. What Nick was trying to figure out was a good opening line to go in this exact place. Yet, no vocals popped in his head. The medium-height orange fox tended to have trouble formulating lyrics, but once they started, they didn't stop.

After the intro, the verse instrumentals were fairly similar. The bass and guitar matched note-to-note, and were complemented by occasional sound effects, used purely as accents. The chorus had a harder drum line and more complex guitar, but nothing overly complex. The focus, as said, was substance over style.

This repeated a couple times before going into a loud, electronic bridge, full of a deep house-esque keyboard riff and near-howling from Nick, before moving back to the chorus as the song ended. All that was left was the damn vocals.

A buzzing became apparent on the table, and Nick looked down, only to see a picture of Finnick's seemingly-permanent scowl on his phone. He picked it up and pressed the "accept" button.

"Hey, man, what's going on ?" Nick asked.

"Nick, you're not gonna believe this". His deep baritone-bass voice always managed to initially startle Nick, or anyone for that matter, potentially expecting something different from a fox his size.

"Believe what ?".

"Okay, so you know how my Uncle's friend is the assistant manager of the Analog Cafe, right ?"

"Of course". Nick already liked where the conversation was going.

"Well, he said he can talk with a couple of the main promoters there and see if he can get you to open up on the mainstage !"

"Holy shit….." sure, that was a maximum of 350 people, but that's still a potentially national touring band, with actual diehard fans, that he could potentially turn into his fans as well.

"Yeah man, I know. But obviously you're gonna need some more songs". Finnick was right, he had maybe 3 songs that he can use left over from his previous projects without controversy from the other former members, and this one in progress still had no lyrics to it. He also needed another musician.

"Finnick, you think you'd be willing to join me ?"

"Fuck, Nick, of course ! I would've killed you if you did it any other way ! I'm assuming you need a bassist, anything else ?"

"Nah, I can run a lot of it from the loops on my macbook. Just keyboards, bass, and maybe some light percussion, like accents 'n shit".

"Alright, dude, but if you want me to help out, we gotta start pumping something out. A series of alt rock artists are gonna be coming through in around 3 months, so we gotta have a good 8 songs within 2 months".

"Fair enough, bro, I can't love ya enough for this ".

"Nick, don't worry about it, you'd do the same for me".

"Alright, well take it easy, and hit me up whenever you're ready to come over and work on something.

"Yeah man, no problem, see you around ".

"See ya".

Nick shut off his phone, and immediately something came to his mind out of nowhere. "You're my cannibal lover". Those were the lyrics. That was the opening line. Quickly, he wrote a set of lyrics in his notebook, and recorded immediately as he was done.

 _You're my cannibal lover  
I feel it when you're underneath the skin  
creepin' in again_

 _well I know this chemical feeling  
is making me forget about the drugs  
you poison with your love  
and when I think I'm out of the dark  
You're pulling me away from the light  
take me where you want me tonight  
and let me swoon over you_

 _let me swoon over you  
and there's nothing I can do  
so let me swoon over you  
don't you know you're just another heart breaker  
don't you know you're just another heartbreaker?  
just another, just another heartbreaker  
don't you know you're just another heartbreaker?  
a heartbreaker  
a heartbreaker._

 _This sensational high  
This sensational low  
I can't control for reasons I don't know  
who you are  
and it's a possibility  
a psychedelic symphony  
you are, you are to me  
and when I think I'm out of the dark  
You're pulling me away from the light  
take me where you want me tonight  
and let me swoon over you_

 _let me swoon over you  
and there's nothing I can do  
so let me swoon over you  
don't you know you're just another heartbreaker  
don't you know you're just another heartbreaker  
just another, just another heartbreaker  
don't you know you're just another heartbreaker  
a heartbreaker, a heartbreaker  
don't you know you're just another heartbreaker  
don't you know you're just another heartbreaker  
just another, just another heartbreaker  
a heartbreaker, a heartbreaker  
got lost losing sleep  
you're my fever dream  
I know...  
you're just another heartbreaker  
heartbreaker  
and let me swoon over you  
and let me swoon over you  
and there's nothing I can do  
so let me swoon over you  
don't you know you're just another heartbreaker  
don't you know you're just another heartbreaker  
just another, just another heartbreaker  
don't you know you're just another heartbreaker  
a heartbreaker, a heartbreaker  
don't you know you're just another heartbreaker  
don't you know you're just another heartbreaker  
just another, just another heartbreaker  
heartbreaker  
heartbreaker_

Was that overkill, with all of those lyrics? He hoped not. He did a single take, sent it to Finnick, and when he sent back a text that simply read "nice", he knew the tiny fox approved.

Songs used:

Swoon-Beach Weather


	2. Chapter 2

"How in the name of everlasting fuck could we forget the name !?"

Finnick was livid. So was Nick. In the process of writing more song (Middle Fingers,

Attica '71, Halfway to Nowhere) they had completely forgotten a name for their project. So when Finnick's Uncle called to get a name so he could list them in a couple shows, he was understandably thrown off when he learned of this.

"Look, it's fine. Let's just both write down like 5 potential names on a post it, then reconvene" Nick stated.

Finnick sighed. "Alright, 15 minutes sound good?"

"Yep".

Nick immediately got to work. Within 8 minutes he was ready. He looked down at the post-it note, and he reviewed.

 _San Malo_

 _Saint Bad_

 _Crown Me_

 _Order/Disorder_

 _Lady Nebula_

Finnick took a little more time, but made it to 5 by the end of the 15 minutes. He stared down, and was somewhat satisfied with the results.

 _Mister Doe_

 _The Fix-Its_

 _Black Dog Showdown_

 _The (Broken) Pieces_

 _King Deserted_

"I kinda like Black Dog Showdown, but it sounds a bit heavy". Nick was apparently reading over the fennec's shoulder.

"I was worried about that. Not Mister Doe ?"

"No, it's a bit too much weirdness ".

"I actually really like Saint Bad".

"Yeah, that was my favorite too.".

The fennec asked, "Is that the verdict? Saint Bad it is ?"

"Let's go with it".

With a name in mind, they called the fennec's Uncle Mack with a name and a timeline to have an 8 song repertoire, just enough time for a good opening gig.

"Alright, wanna run through Middle Fingers one more time before we upload it ?"

"Yeah, let's go for it". Finnick said as he picked up his bass and began the keyboard.

 _I am tired of seeing pretty people everywhere_

 _I am not a model, middle fingers in the air_

 _I used to drink whiskey, now I'm stuck with Perrier_

 _I'm an alcoholic, middle fingers in the air_

At that point, they entered the loud, punchy chorus.

 _I'll just keep on throwing middle fingers in the air_

 _I'll just keep on throwing middle fingers in the air_

 _I don't like the music other people tend to share_

 _Hate your loser lyrics, middle fingers in the air_

 _I'm a starving artist nowhere close to millionaire_

 _I prefer my Kia, middle fingers in the air_

 _I'll just keep on throwing middle fingers in the air_

 _I'll just keep on throwing middle fingers in the air_

 _I'm a simple loner who the hell thinks that I care_

 _I am not the party, middle fingers in the air_

This part was difficult. Nick had to seamlessly transition from singing to modulating the voice he just made without any sort of timing mistake. Yet, he made it look easy.

 _I'll just keep on throwing middle fingers in the air_

 _I'll just keep on throwing middle fingers in the air_

Finnick sang backup near the end.

 _(I'll just keep on, keep, keep on)_

 _(I'll just keep on, keep, keep on)_

 _I'll just keep on throwing middle fingers in the air._

"Sounds good to me" said the fennec.

"Alright, here goes nothing". The orange fox moved the .wav into the "file upload" box and pressed upload. They now had technically released their first track. Only time would tell how successful it could be.


	3. Chapter 3

So I realized I forgot to credit the music in the previous chapter:

Middle Fingers-MISSIO

Attica '71-Olivver the kid (mentioned)

Halfway to Nowhere-Chelou (mentioned)

10,000 plays.

The song had 10,000 plays in only 4 days.

Sure, 10,000 may not seem overly impressive to a mainstream artist, but for their first song ever? That was extremely rare. And there were nothing but positive comments. "Lyrics are killer !" "I love the chorus, it's so loud!". Nick had no clue how to react.

"Do we keep writing or do we keep uploading ?" Nick asked the tiny fox sitting next to him. Finnick shrugged.

"Before we do anything, let me show you something". Finnick pulled up safari and typed in " .com".

"You set up a website ?"

"Indeed I did. And I put the song up on there AND hooked it up to the paypaw that was connected to both of our bank accounts".

Nick was impressed. "How much are you selling it for ?" he asked.

"69 cents. First song, no reason to charge big".

"And how many downloads ?"

Finnick pulled up the stats. "See for yourself". Nick couldn't believe it. 650 downloads. Added up, that was nearly 450 dollars. "Holy shit".

"Yeah, and I also set up some social media. 750 instagram followers, 812 twitter followers, we might even be able to pull a couple of our own fans to the show".

"Speaking of which, has your uncle found out who we are opening for yet ?"

"Yeah, go ahead and look them up, they're called Mating Ritual".

"Nice, what's our cut ?"

"All of our merchandise, and 15% of ticket sales after venue costs. That's 650 dollars, so if we hypothetically sold out, the tickets are $14 each, 350 times 14, then minus 650, multiply that sucker by .15" Finnick had his calculator pulled out, trying to crunch numbers. "That's 637 dollars and fifty cents without any merchandise sales, which I'm thinking we could get around 100 dollars out of. So for each of us, that's 368 dollars and seventy five cents".

"Sweet jesus, that's fucking insane!" Nick couldn't believe it. Added on to the download money, they were making bank. Well, for a pair of 17 year-olds anyways.

"Yeah, it is". The fennec replied. "We could boost that by recording another song, you know.

Nick replied. "Yeah, Halfway to Nowhere sounds good whenever, we might be able to get it in one take even. Let's go through it one more time".

Finnick cued up the electronics. The beginning, as was the rest of song, was quiet and calming, the initial wavering synth resembling a pining radar, sort of. He then grabbed a drumstick and beginning tapping the drum pad. Nick began a simple, flowing guitar melody.

 _How do you get out of bed in the morning?_

 _How do you wake to carry the day?_

 _Yeah I sing for pleasure_

 _I've sung for pain_

 _I'm still halfway to nowhere_

 _I'm still nothing today_

 _They tell me good things come to those who wait_

 _Despite the process along that came from fame_

 _Yeah I sing for pleasure_

 _I've sung for pain_

 _I'm still halfway to nowhere_

 _I'm still nothing today_

 _Yeah I sing for pleasure_

 _I've sung for pain_

 _I'm still halfway to nowhere_

 _I'm still nothing today_

The song wasn't overly complex. Easy to play, most of the song was looped patterns, but the emotion was raw, even if quiet.

"Alright, so we can upload this, and..oh shit, we never uploaded Swoon" Nick realized.

No worries, I'm on it. Let me mix this a bit first so none of the sound levels are fighting each other" Finnick replied.

Within an hour, Finnick was done, and uploaded the two songs to their soundcloud and bandcamp pages. He then snuck a picture of Nick toasting waffles in his kitchen and posted it to twitter and instagram with the caption "hard at work, check out our new songs" with the links on the posts.

Finnick looked back at Nick. He began thinking a bit to himself, watching Nick dance around the kitchen whilst drenching the waffles in syrup. "God, what a goofball. Kinda adorable really"...Finnick snapped out of it immediately. He muttered to himself "...the hell was that ?" No reason to dwell however, he had music business to attend to.

Songs used:

Halfway to Nowhere-Chelou


	4. Chapter 4

Finnick and Nick skipped school for the concert. It was too exciting, too time-consuming, too many things to bother worrying about school. It was 8 in the morning, and for the first time in months, they had the opportunity to sleep in, the calm before the storm.

Finnick woke up first. This was typical, he never was a good sleeper. Typically, he wouldn't be out until midnight at least, then be up by sunrise. They had stayed up until two last night, however, making sure that their merch had came in and that everything was ready to go. Of course, they'd double check later. Everything had to be perfect.

The fennec glanced to his right. Nick was still one-hundred percent knocked out, the tinted orange fur on his chest rising and falling with every breath, ever so slowly….he looked to be at total peace. Finnick was mesmerized.

"Snap out of it, Finn...what the fuck…" Finnick had no clue what was going. He'd never thought of Nick like this. Ever. Yet, the way he looked, like he was dreaming about the most beautiful of sights… "No, not again. No". The tiny light brown fennec was having none of this with himself. Instead, he walked into the nearby kitchen and dropped a couple of waffles in the toaster.

Sure enough, he heard the noises of Nick stirring and getting out of bed. He walked out of the bedroom wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. "Jesus.." Finnick thought. He had a bit of muscle to him, but was still fairly lean. His hair had been messed up while sleeping, yet he was so handsome…..his eyes kept drifting lower, down to his…"Nope. You need to stop" Finnick thought to himself. Every second, he felt more insane.

'Good morning, bud. Today's the big day". Nick said sleepily.

"Yeah, I got some waffles for you".

"Wow, how formal for a couple rockstars". Nick grabbed them off the plate and lazily snacked on them. "What songs do you think we need to work on ?"

"Honestly ? They're all practically ready, none of them have any rough spots anymore. We might as well just run through the setlist".

"Fair enough, read it off to me one more time. Oh, make sure to make a couple copies we can tape down to the floor just to remember".

"Yeah, lemme read it off to you". Finnick scanned around the room before seeing the sheet of paper containing their performance list on it, sitting neatly on the table.

"Alright here it is: We start off with I'm The One, then move directly into Everything You Know, then we take a minute break to set up for Halfway To Nowhere, which goes into Attica '71, then Swoon, Middle Fingers, then Come Save Me, The District Sleeps Alone, we say our goodbyes, etc.., then finish off with Hold This Tight. At which point we get our stuff on stage, and go to the merch booth, which will be situated on the side of the room, closer to the back".

"Alright, so what time do we need to get there ?"

"Doors open at 6, we get on at 7, we get 45 minutes. I'd imagine soundcheck will take around 40 minutes maximum, and we soundcheck last, so I'd say 4:45 to be safe".

"Sounds good. Want to do any more practice runs before we start packing up ?"

"Yeah, let's do Come Save Me".

"Sounds good".

Nick picked up the drumsticks and played a quick rhythm on the drum pad whilst Finnick cued up the electronic tracks. Nick had a special microphone for the reverb effects he needed on his voice, as did Finnick.

I don't think you want me like I want you

I don't think you want me like I want you

So what do I've got to do to get around it?

What have I got to do to get around it?

I don't want a love like this

I don't want a love like this

Oh it's not what you want

Oh it's not what you want

Oh it's not what you want

Oh It feels

Come and save me

Come and save me

Come and save me

Come and save me

I don't think you want me like I want you

I don't think you want me like I want you

So what have I got to do to get around it?

What have I got to do to get around it?

I don't want a love like this

I don't want a love like this

Oh it's not what you want

Oh it's not what you want

Oh it's not what you want

Oh It feels

Come and save me

Come and save me

Come and save me

Come and save me

Come and save me

Come and save me

Come and save me

Come and save me

At this point, Nick took out the drum track and instead began playing something else, whilst Finnick got on the keyboards and played multiple rhythms at once. This part could be done fully on the computer, but there'd be so much that would require absolutely perfect timing that it was almost easier to just play 3 things at the same time live.

Come and save me

(Found my love looking on the ground)

Come and save me

Come and save me

(Found my love looking on the ground)

Come and save me

Come and save me

(Found my love looking on the ground)

Come and save me

Come and save me

(Found my love looking on the ground)

Come and save me

Come and save me

(Found my love looking on the ground)

Come and save me

Come and save me

(Found my love looking on the ground)

Come and save me

Come and save me

(Found my love looking on the ground)

Come and save me

Come and save me

(Found my love looking on the ground)

Come and save me

Come and save me

(Found my love looking on the ground)

Come and save me

Come and save me

(Found my love looking on the ground)

Come and save me

Come and save me

(Found my love looking on the ground)

Come and save me

Come and save me

(Found my love looking on the ground)

Come and save me

Come and save me

(Found my love looking on the ground)

Come and save me

This was quick transition. Nick's voice became breathier and airier, as Finnick began looping a keyboard track before picking up the bass and doing the same thing.

Found my love looking on the ground

Found my love looking on the ground

Found my love looking on the ground

Found my love looking on the ground

Found my love looking on the ground

Found my love looking on the ground

Finnick started singing backup vocals. Harmonizing was key.

Found my love looking on the ground

Found my love looking on the ground

Found my love looking on the ground

Found my love looking on the ground

Found my love looking on the ground

They paused for a few seconds. The song was exhausting, but they could manage.

Nick spoke first. "It sounds good, but damn if we mess up, that's the song we're gonna mess up".

Finnick replied. "Don't sweat it, It's gonna be fine".

Songs Used:

Come Save Me-Jagwar Ma

Mentioned:

Halfway To Nowhere-Chelou

The District Sleeps Alone-The Postal Service

Attica '71-Olivver The Kid

I'm The One-Wilderness Survival

Everything You Know-Happy Body Slow Brain

Swoon-Beach Weather

Middle Fingers-MISSIO


	5. Chapter 5

The mood was intoxicating, electric even.

To see 350 people outside of the green room was absolutely amazing.

In the small theater, the green room was located just off stage. In just a couple minutes, the lights would dim and they would walk on. Sure, they were openers, but who cared? This was big by any metric.

Finnick was beyond excited. "I still can't believe we're finally doing this".

Nick was on a whole new level of existence. In absolute bliss. "Yeah, it's crazy".

Their equipment was on the front of stage. A keyboard stand with a synthesizer on top, connected to a second stand holding a laptop, a launchpad controller, a smaller synthesizer, and a set of turntables. Then, two basses, both on a two-sided stand. Then, the guitars. One acoustic, two electric. Nick liked variety. Microphones were on both sides, one for each of them, pre-adjusted for their respective heights. Behind them was Mating Ritual's equipment, ready to be moved to the front once they were done.

Suddenly, the lights dimmed, two single blue spotlights were in the center. Rabid cheering quickly ensued, the animals were simply ready for music.

Finnick looked to Nick, who was wearing dark blue jeans, a pair of cream-colored converse, and a buttoned up but untucked white dress shirt. The shorter fennec had opted for a short sleeve buttoned black dress shirt with khakis and white vans. Finnick asked Nick, "You ready ?"

"I'm beyond ready".

They walked on, gaining a new perspective. Everyone was cheering. The crowd of animals, mostly foxes and wolves, stretched to the back of the theater. They didn't have time to wander, though, they had a song to perform. Nick tried to remember what song was first until he looked down. The paper said "I'm The One", and then he heard Finnick launch into the distinct keyboard riff and start up the miscellaneous percussion and synth tracks.

 _I never wanted to love but you got nothing that's wrong.  
I always pretend you got nothing when there's something quite beautiful, tell me the truth.  
I didn't notice but damn you feel the damage that's done._

 _Truth is, I'm the one.  
Oh yeah, I'm the one.  
And so we never did much and so we never did wrong.  
You turn the corner you come back baby then you don't mind taking the fall, tell me the truth.  
I didn't notice but damn you feel the damage that's done.  
Truth is, I'm the one.  
Oh yeah, I'm the one.  
And so we never did wrong and so we never did right.  
You got a kid, I am a kid, you are a kid, and we were all born after John Lennon died and they always said that  
we'd give up, before we were done.  
Truth is I'm the one, oh yeah I'm the one  
And so we never did much and so we never did wrong.  
You turn the corner you come back baby then you don't mind taking the fall, tell me the truth.  
I didn't notice but damn you feel the damage that's done.  
Truth is, I'm the one.  
Oh yeah, I'm the one._

Nick finished off, strumming the guitar with pure emotion, then looked outwards. The crowd was awestruck, most of them had not bothered looking up the band before the concert.

A wave of clapping and screaming suddenly came through. Finnick turned to Nick, whose jaw was wide open in disbelief. People liked the music? Loved the music? HIS music?

Finnick realized Nick was too thunderstruck to introduce themselves, so he grabbed his mic and practically screamed "What's up guys! I'm Finnick, that's Nick, and we're Saint Bad out of right here in Zootopia !"

The sudden second wave of screaming took Nick out of his trance. Now back to being focused they led the crowd through the rest of their set. By the time that they got to the end of Hold This Tight and were preparing to leave the stage, the crowd was ecstatic. It took all of their might to leave the euphoria of the stage.

Finnick was beyond crazed. Then, he looked to Nick, his orange fur glistening in sweat and tousled, his eyes glimmering with hope, Finnick couldn't himself.

He grabbed Nick's face and planted a kiss, right on the lips.

It lasted for maybe 2 seconds before Nick pulled away, Finnick suddenly realizing the magnitude of what he just did. "Nick...I...umm…"

"Dude, don't worry about it, but definitely talking later".

"Yeah, I'll...see you at the merch booth…."

Nick walked away before Finnick banged his head on the wall.

"Stupid..fucking...fennec".


End file.
